Predators

Do you ever have one of those movies that you are super excited to go see on opening day, even though you know it will be a major disappointment? Predators is that movie for me this summer. A true fan of the Alien and Predator franchises (and admittedly their retarded hybrid children as well), I thought Robert Rodriguez would bring life back into this series and make the sequel that we have all been waiting for since 1987. Unfortunately it's not so much a sequel as a remake.

The plot can be surmised from watching one of the previews. A group of warriors and one doctor (I know, Topher Grace in an action flick?) are dropped on an alien planet to serve as prey for three predators who are probably on safari. You have the Russian heavy gunner, the death row inmate, Yakuza assassin, African freedom fighter, Mexican drug enforcer, etc. and finally, Adrien Brody.

I know, Adrien Brody? This is his first try at action to the best of my knowledge, and he overplays the gravelly accent worse than Christian Bale's Batman, though he did add some considerable weight for the obligatory shirtless climax battle scene.

The rest of the cast is recognizable, but not memorable. Laurence Fishburne is an absolute waste of screen space as a crazy hermit surviving in this alien planet, and Topher Grace and Walton Goggins are thrown in for comic relief, but both of their roles seem a little out of place when contrasted with the rest of the killers, especially Grace. I am still scratching my head as to why he was there in the first place. There is no real explanation aside from an opportunity for a flat twist.

It wasn't all that bad though. The music was almost identical to the original, and there are many references to that film throughout this one, either through dialogue, homage, or just plain imitation. In the jungle, die one by one, leader takes his shirt off, man defeats the predator. Just not the most likely of stories.

They could have done a lot more with the alien planet. It seemed like a typical jungle with some photoshop done to make plants look extra exotic. They also added some new creatures and technological advancements on the predators, but they were unimaginative and needed a little more screen time. You would think I hated this movie by this point, but it was the second best of the series...

Brody will take a little getting used to, and he needs better dialogue and delivery if he wants to make it in action (my advice to an Oscar winner...). Arnold he is not, but it looked like he had fun doing it.

Perhaps the bar was too high, or perhaps I expected more from a director whose best work so far is a toss up between Vacancy and Armored. There just is so much potential with this franchise and this story, and it keeps disappointing. Oh well, I will still go see the sequel. 6/10.